Waste Carriers Licence

Does a Haulier need to register as a waste carrier or broker of controlled waste?

Carriers

Unless you qualify for an exemption, if you want to transport controlled waste in England and Wales as part of your business or with a view to profit, you need to register as a waste carrier. However, you don't need to do this if:

you are carrying waste that you have produced, unless it is building or demolition waste;

you are moving waste between different places within the same premises; you are transporting waste from outside Great Britain to a place within it and the waste is not landed in Great Britain until it arrives at that place;

the waste is being transported by sea or air from a place in Great Britain to a place outside Great Britain.

Brokers

Unless you qualify for an exemption, if you want to deal in waste or arrange for someone else's waste to be disposed of or recovered, you need to register as a waste broker. However, you don't need to do this if:

you're arranging for your own waste to be disposed of or recovered;

you're arranging the disposal or recovery of someone else's waste and you are going to transport it as a registered carrier;

you're arranging for someone else's waste to be disposed of or recovered if you are the operator of the authorised site where the waste is going to.

It doesn't matter whether you are a self-employed individual, a partnership, a company or another type of organisation. The law applies equally to all. It also doesn't matter if carrying or dealing in waste is not your main business or if you only do it occasionally. You still need to register.

If you carry waste or arrange for someone else's waste to be disposed of or recovered you could be prosecuted if you are not registered.

Registration lasts three years.

Exemptions - carriers and brokers

Who is exempt from registering as a waste carrier or broker of controlled waste?

Most businesses that transport waste or arrange the disposal or recovery of waste for others must be registered with us. However, the following are exempt:

Ferry operators in relation to vehicles carried on the ferry;

Operators of a vessel, aircraft, hovercraft, marine structure, floating container or vessel being used to dispose of waste at sea in accordance with the Food and Environmental Protection Act (FEPA) 1985.

If your type of business is included in the categories below, you are also exempt from carrier and/or broker registration but you do still need to let us know that you are a professional collector and/or dealer of waste. This is simpler than full registration and is free.

Your registration lasts indefinitely so you do not need to renew it.

a Waste Collection Authority, Waste Disposal Authority or Waste Regulation Authority under Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990

a charity

a voluntary organisation under section 48(11) of the Local Government Act 1985

a carrier or broker of agricultural waste or mines or quarries waste only